CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – In stark contrast to this time more than 60 years ago when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited UVA and Charlottesville, the UVA Center for Politics announces the hiring of Martin Luther King III through the end of this year. Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato says MLK III continues the civil rights work of his parents, and he’s proud to announce King as the Second Professor of Practice at the Center alongside Liz Cheney.

The welcome contrasts starkly to when he appeared here at the request of UVA history professor Paul Gaston at a time when the white establishment called King a “troublemaker”. Sabato recalls Dr. Gaston recounting to him about escorting Dr. King on the Grounds and around the community.
“In fact, at one point there was a loud retort, and King did what he had been trained to do, which was to immediately hit the deck.”
It was April 4, 1968, a little more than five years after that Charlottesville appearance, King was assassinated in Memphis, TN.

Sabato says while students, all white male, and the community filled King’s Old Cabell Hall speech to barely standing room… Visitors appointed by two Byrd machine governors did not attend and discouraged University leadership from attending, as well.

Professor King’s first appearance will take place in the same location on the evening of Friday, April 5 during a special concert by the University Chamber Singers. In fact, this is not his only appearance at Old Cabell, either. He spoke there in 2018 as part of that year’s Virginia Film Festival.

The Center’s full release is below:

‘The UVA Center for Politics announced today that Martin Luther King III has accepted an appointment to serve as a Professor of Practice with the Center for Politics. Mr. King is the second Professor of Practice to join the Center for Politics alongside former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who joined the Center in March 2023. Mr. King’s appointment is effective immediately.
“I am delighted to join the Center for Politics as a Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia, and to do so during the anniversary month when my father addressed UVA 61 years ago makes this appointment all the more meaningful,” said Mr. King. “Like my parents, I have devoted my career to social justice advocacy and combatting some of the most troubling issues of our time including poverty, racism and violence. I look forward to continuing that work with the Center for Politics.”

On March 25, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to an audience of nearly 900 people at the University of Virginia in Old Cabell Hall. Those students, founders of a new organization at the time called the Thomas Jefferson Virginia Council on Human Relations, were concerned about persecution and discrimination on Grounds. The students, largely African American, founded the organization in an effort to address social injustice and invited Dr. King to help their cause. After driving himself from Georgia, Dr. King spoke for about an hour against racial segregation at universities and called for increased enrollment of African-American students.
Professor King’s first appearance as Professor of Practice will take place in the same location where his father spoke, Old Cabell Hall, on the evening of Friday, April 5 during a special concert by the University Chamber Singers under the direction of Professor Michael Slon that is being planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UVA Center for Politics. Professor King will also be a featured speaker during the anniversary weekend on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Full details of the Center’s 25th anniversary weekend will be released at a later date.
Mr. King advances the legacy of his parents as a thought leader on the world stage, a peacemaker, and a negotiator on some of today’s most critical national and international platforms for social change. Amplifying his father’s work, Mr. King has devoted his life to promoting global human rights and social justice, earning a reputation as a respected international statesman and one of the world’s most passionate advocates for the poor and oppressed.
“Professor King brings a wealth of experience in social justice, politics, human rights and much more, and we’re thrilled that he has chosen the Center for Politics,” said Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics. “I know the students will enjoy getting to know him and learning from his vast experience in the public arena.”
Over the course of his tenure as a Professor of Practice, Professor King will participate in university-wide lectures, serve as a guest lecturer in student seminars, and participate in other university and community events to be announced at a future date.
* * *
Founded by Professor Larry J. Sabato, the Center for Politics has established annual conferences, publications, programs, and curricula to advance democracy around the world and to equip people to better understand politics and government. The Center has worked to educate and inspire our citizenry about practical politics and civic engagement through programs that are unique, compelling, and open-minded — including producing four Emmy-winning documentaries.’